The Essential Difference
"At last, leading psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen confirms what most of us have long suspected: male and female brains are different. This groundbreaking and controversial study reveals the scientific evidence (present even in one-day-old babies) that proves female brains are better at empathizing and communicating, while male brains are stronger at understanding and building systems--not just computers and machinery, but abstract systems such as politics and music. Most revolutionary of all, The Essential Difference also puts forward the compelling new theory that autism (and the related condition of Asperger Syndrome) is actually an example of the extreme male brain, leaving those with the condition able to analyze the most complex systems but unable to relate to others' emotional lives. Understanding our essential difference, Simon Baron-Cohen concludes, may help us not just to make sense of our partners' foibles, but to solve one of the most mysterious scientific riddles of our time."--Back cover of paperback.
Stats for nerds
1recommend
2mentions
2people
2010–2021years
50% recommend50% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin to the comedian) has an incredible book on gender differences in psychology called "The Essential Difference", where he puts forth the theory that Williams Syndrome is a condition diametrically opposite from autism: whereas autistics exhibit hyper-masculine behavior, children with Williams Syndrome exhibit hyper-feminine behavior. As he describes it, children with WS have verbal and social abilities that far outpace their physical development, while suffering severe mental retardation in pretty much all other areas, especially spacial and quantitative reasoning.
As others have mentioned, the condition also results in physical changes including pale skin, stunted growth, and abnormal facial features. It's not something one might wish upon one's children.
- I'm only interested in why you believe what you believe. How smart are you? What do you value most? How truth-oriented is your epistemology?
I'm glad you don't discriminate (nothing "reverse" about it) against men, but many do, and since [your views are wrong](https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Difference-Female-Brains-Au...) it's tantamount to sex-based theft and redistribution.
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